Page 12 - ADEX 2024 - DAY 3

Israel, Azerbaijan Cement Defence Ties

By ARIE EGOZI

Israeli defence officials who arrived to According to the Israeli company, th ground based canisters or air launched to
attend the 5th Anniversary Azerbaijan SkyStriker can reach a distance of tens of navigate towards the potential target area. It
International Defence Exhibition (ADEX) miles within minutes, because of its impres- can be launched at any angle, horizontal or
received questions about additional Israeli sive flight speed. Upon reaching the target at a vertical trajectory. The sealed container
made systems that the Azeris are interested area, it can loiter and pursue the target for ensures protection from harsh battlefield
in. Israel and Azerbaijan have close defence up to two hours. According to the Stockholm conditions.
relations. Since Iran shares a lengthy border International Peace Research Institute, one
with Azerbaijan, in response to certain op- of the biggest markets for Israeli military
erational needs, Azerbaijan has purchased hardware is Azerbaijan. The Harop is armed with a 35 pounds war-
some military systems designed in Israel, head and is equipped with a very advanced
notably loitering weapon systems. In the past, the Azeris have purchased an- day/night payload (POP-250) made by the
other loitering weapon system, the Harop Tamam division of IAI. Harop has an opera-
These systems saw heavy use in the made by Israel aerospace industries (IAI). tional range of 620 miles and an endurance
2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between It also purchased the Lora long range sur- of six hours.
Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azeris were face to surface precise rocket. The Harop
seen heavily utilizing Israeli loitering weapon has been developed to destroy high quality In recent months, there have been reports
systems in the combat zone, according to targets. It consists of the munitions unit,
video footage. The Elbit Systems SkyStriker transportable launcher and a mission con- about some new Israeli developed weapon
loitering weapon system was purchased by trol shelter, which provides real-time access systems that Azerbaijan wants to acquire.
the Azeris in 2018. Although videos of the to control the Harop by a man-in-the-loop. Sources said that Israeli officials that arrived
Israeli company testing these equipment in at Baku were asked about some advanced
Azerbaijan appeared online, the company The Harop can be launched from various Israeli systems that have not been exported
to Azerbaijan in the past.
declined to comment on the deal. transportable platforms including sea and

The SkyStriker is the first such system de-
veloped by Elbit Systems. The SkyStriker
is designed to seek, locate and engage
various targets for the tactical level military
force. According to Elbit, the SkyStriker is
capable of locating, acquiring and striking
operator-marked targets, thus enabling
high-precision performance. The system’s
electric propulsion provides a low acoustic
signature and enables covert low altitude
operations.

12 SEPTEMBER-26-2024 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/DAILY NEWS